By The Numbers

A mix-up with Sir Mix-A-Lot

Marketplace Staff Jan 13, 2016
$880 billion

That’s the worth of assets held by MetLife, the country’s largest life insurance company — including $240 billion in retail assets. On Tuesday, MetLife announced it may spin off its retail insurance business, as well as annuities. As The New York Times reports, the idea is to get smaller so that regulations put in place after the financial collapse in 2008 can be avoided.

8.5 percent

That’s how much listings for jobs for economics Ph.D.s have increased over past year, according to a new report from the American Economic Association. And with movies like “The Big Short” making the financial crisis seem sexy, a lot more undergrads are finding a reason to choose a major in economics.

12

That’s the day in August when Jonathan Nichols finally figured out why he had been receiving random phone calls and texts to his new cell phone. Having moved to Seattle for law school, Nichols got a local number. Soon after, he began receiving calls from luxury car companies, pictures of scantily clad women, and texts with links to music videos. Then, on August 12, came the happy birthday messages, many with references to the 90’s hit song “Baby Got Back.” As the Seattle Times writes, a quick Google search yielded the cause of the odd mix-up: Nichols had been assigned the old phone number of Anthony Ray, AKA Sir Mix-A-Lot.

50

Starting this month, if a company has more than that number of employees, it must offer workers health insurance, which means extra costs. That’s where Benestream comes in — it’s a company that helps analyze its workforce to see who qualifies for Medicaid, and can be taken off the company insurance. But where businesses save money, the government may not.

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